Jazz bassist and singer Kristen Korb scatted her way through the song, “I’m Beginning to See the Light,” during her concert with BYU–Idaho’s Sound Alliance last Saturday.

“I try to take things from the great American song book like Gershwin and great jazz masters. I rearrange them to put my own twist to them,” Korb said.

This was the first time that Korb performed in Rexburg and said that she was excited to perform at BYU–Idaho to interact with her audience. 

“I had fun. There were no worries about the performance,” said Matt Larson, a junior studying music jazz studies and also played Tenor Sax in Sound Alliance. “We have never played a concert this early in the semester and just got the tunes three weeks ago, but everything
went smoothly.”

Being a musician is the career that Korb wanted since she was in the seventh grade. She played bass in her junior high jazz ensemble and had a teacher that inspired her to love music.

“My school teacher took us to a jazz camp, which really got me excited about music. I knew that I wanted to play in a band,” Korb said.

For the performance, Korb left home her 100-year-old Morelli bass that her niece and nephew nicknamed “Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome,” and instead played her Yamaha silent bass.

One highlight of the evening was when Aaron Miller of the Music Department faculty played alongside Korb for a Ray Brown jazz number. The two musicians went back and forth between playing their basses with an occasional scatting of the tune.

“She [Korb] seemed like a very happy, outgoing person who really loves what she does,” said Kathryn Swinehart, a freshman studying exercise science.

During her visit, Korb gave jazz workshops to students. Some students gleaned tips about the different aspects of being a musician.

“When it comes to jazz, some people think it’s just about a lot of notes. She [Korb] taught us that we need to sing our melodies no matter what instrument we play,” Larson said.